I stood up and moved to sit on the crate, my back towards him.

‘Mature, Libby. Real mature.’

‘You should’ve jumped into the river when you had the chance,’ I sniffed.

‘Yeah? Well, you know something? If I could go back to that moment and I had it all to do again, I still wouldn’t’ve left you alone. So suck on that.’

It took a moment for his words to sink in. Puzzled, I turned to face him.

Troy glared at me defiantly so what he’d said made even less sense.

I didn’t get it. ‘Why not?’ I couldn’t help asking.

‘You figure it out,’ said Troy.

But I just couldn’t. ‘I guess that’s just another of life’s mysteries that I’ll take to an early grave, along with how to get out of this hellhole.’

‘That’s where you’re wrong,’ said Troy. ‘Help me up.’

I walked over to him and held out my hands. Even in this half-light, I could see the gleam in those dark eyes framed by long, curled black eyelashes as he grabbed hold. Taking a half-step back, I pulled until he had enough momentum to stand upright on his own.

‘Let me check your bandage to make sure it’s not wrapped too tight.’

‘Never mind the bandage,’ Troy dismissed. ‘I know exactly what we’ve got to do now, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?’

Trust him … According to my mum, Troy was one of the people I should trust the least. But she wasn’t here – and I wasn’t her. Nor did I have to try to be to win if not her love, then at least her approval. Not any more.

‘What d’you have in mind?’

Troy smiled. Just smiled. And, all at once, I felt not unburdened exactly, but strangely lighter. Whatever else might happen to us, we were in this together. I wasn’t alone. At that precise moment, it meant everything.

‘I have a plan,’ said Troy. ‘To get us out of here.’

‘I’m all ears,’ I prompted. What was he waiting for? A drum roll?

His smile broadened, displaying perfect white teeth. ‘We dig!’

twenty-two. Troy

Libby blinked once and remained silent, as if waiting for the punchline.

‘Hear me out,’ I said eagerly. ‘There’s no way we can escape through the boarded-up door. The walls are brick so we aren’t getting out that way. But this place is really old – some of the ground in here is just dirt.’ This had come to me in that strange in-between of not asleep and not awake. Maybe it was worth a try – we didn’t have much else.